Hosted IVR

December 01, 2012

TMCnet Hosted IVR Week in Review

By Rich Steeves
TMCnet Web Editor

The days of “Press 1 for Yes, Press 2 for No” are rapidly slipping away. Instead, we are entering an era of interactive voice response technology. Hosted IVR systems give companies the ability to meet customer demands quickly and easily, and make life easier for end users as well. This week there was plenty of news in the hosted IVR space. Let’s check out some of the highlights!

First up was news from 3M (News - Alert) stating that it was planning to start a new initiative to bring more voice-enabled technology to its customers. With the increasing popularity of speech recognition software, people are becoming used to the technology and comfortable with using it. “We see a great variety of applications in which people may prefer voice as a mean to interact with their personal device environment,” said Robert Visser, vice president of research and development of 3M’s Energy and Electronics business group. 

Speaking of speech recognition systems, like the popular Siri application from Apple (News - Alert), more and more car manufacturers are getting into the game by including such features on their new automobiles. One example of this is Ford, which has been improving its SYNC system, which has become increasingly popular with consumers. "We are seeing strong brand lift from MyFord Touch amongst in-market shoppers, with 65 percent of those intending to purchase a vehicle reporting SYNC definitely plays a role in their purchase consideration. Take rates for MyFord Touch on new vehicle orders, such as the 2013 Escape and Fusion, continue to outpace our internal projections. We expect the same trend for Fiesta," company officials revealed.

Another car company that is working to integrate voice recognition technology is Chevy. It has plans to integrate Siri directly into its Chevy MyLink infotainment system. The company plans to include the application in 2013 editions of the Spark and the Sonic.

There you have it, all the top stories from the hosted IVR space this week. Check back soon for more news and information!

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